Mathematics Awareness Centre at Warwick

The Mathematics Awareness Centre at Warwick is a small centre that coordinates activities in the Public Understanding of Science, with special emphasis on the mathematical sciences. In particular it responds to queries from the media on mathematics-related matters.

Activities include popular lectures, radio and television broadcasts, and magazine and news articles.

MAC@W regrets that it cannot provide lectures for individual schools

Recent activities include:

Lectures

2005

Hong Kong, The pattern of tiny feet, University of Hong Kong, 17.3.05.

Warwick, Higher Education Gateway Lecture: How Does an Alien move? Life on other planets, 16.4.05

London, Royal Society, IMA Summer Lecture, All the world's a network, 15.6.05.

Christchurch, New Zealand, NZAMT9, opening plenary lecture, Thinking around the square, 27.9.05.

Christchurch, New Zealand, NZAMT9, workshop, Sums of two squares, 28.9.05.

Christchurch, New Zealand, Univ. of Otago, Network models of sympatric speciation, 29.9.05.

Christchurch, New Zealand, NZAMT9, workshop, Birthdays on Jupiter, 30.9.05.

Warwick, IBM UK Ltd, What has mathematics done for computing? 25.11.05.

2006

Warwick, Warwickshire Geological and Conservation Society, Geological doomsdays, 11.1.06.

Bath, University of Bath, Symmetry and the vestibular system, 24.2.06.

Coventry, Gatsby Fellows dinner, Letters to a young mathematician, 9.6.06.

Coventry, Mathematics Day Out, All the world's a network, 7.7.06

Hinkley, Discworld Convention, [with Jack Cohen] The science of Discworld, 19.8.06.

Hinkley, Discworld Convention, The big read, 20.8.06.

Hinkley, Discworld Convention, The mathematics of Discworld, 21.8.06.

Coventry, EPSRC Training School on Mathematics in the Science of Complex Systems, What mathematicians do, 12.9.06.

Coventry, IMA Conference on Mathematics in the Science of Complex Systems, Pattern formation in networks, 18.9.06

Valetta, University of Malta, Why do maths? Public lecture to 5th formers, 18.10.06.

Valetta, University of Malta, Network dynamics, 20.10.06.

Valetta, Music Room St. James Cavalier, All the World's a Network, Public lecture to Mathematics Society, 25.10.06.

Valetta, University of Malta, Probability: puzzles and paradoxes Public lecture to 6th formers, 30.10.06.

2007

Coventry, University of Warwick, The work of Werner Wendelin, Fields Medal Event, Mathematics Society, 31.1.07.

Manchester, Manchester University, Sunday strolls and trotting pigs: 300 years of networks, Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Lecture, 7.3.07.

Coventry, University of Warwick, The Sierpinski gasket, Mathematics Society, 14.3.07.

Oxford, Oxford Literary Festival, How to cut a cake, 21.3.07.

Coventry, University of Warwick, How Aliens Walk: Alien Design, 23.3.07.

Groningen, University of Groningen, Bernoulli Lecture, All the world's a network, 27.3.07.

Radio

2005

BBC Radio-4, The Number Cruncher, interview about ERNIE, producer Emily Williams, 19.1.05. TX 25.2.05.

BBC World Service, Science in action, interview with Tracey Logan about `Play it again, Psam', producer John Stewart, 7.2.05.

German National Radio, Literatur, interview with Suzanne Nessler on "Schrödinger's Mousetrap" detective story, 24.3.05.

BBC Radio-4, Yet another five numbers, 1 — the most popular number! Interview with Simon Singh, producer Adrian Washbourne, 8.4.05.

BBC Radio-4, Yet another five numbers, 2 — at the double. Interview with Simon Singh, producer Adrian Washbourne, 8.4.05.

BBC Radio-4, Yet another five numbers, 6.67x10^-11 — the number that defines the universe. Interview with Simon Singh, producer Adrian Washbourne, 8.4.05.

BBC Radio-4, Yet another five numbers, 6 — the degrees of separation. Interview with Simon Singh, producer Adrian Washbourne, 8.4.05.

BBC Radio-4, Yet another five numbers, 1729 — the first in the search for taxicab numbers. Interview with Simon Singh, producer Adrian Washbourne, 8.4.05.

BBC Radio-5, Radio Five Live, discussion on coincidences, with Brian King and Sue Blackmore, 27.4.05.

KIX-92 FM, Coventry, interview about final Star Wars movie, 18.5.05.

2006

BBC radio-4, In Our Time, Negative numbers [with Raymond Flood], presenter Melvyn Bragg, 9.3.06.

BBC World Service, Discover, Gottfried Leibniz and calculating machines, producer Roland Pease, 26.9.06.

BBC World Service, Discover, Alan Turing and computers, producer Roland Pease, 26.9.06.

BBC World Service, Discover, DNA computing, producer Roland Pease, 26.9.06.

University of Malta Campus Radio, interview with James Borg, 19.10.06.

BBC radio-4, In Our Time, The Poincaré Conjecture [with June Barrow-Green and Marcus du Sautoy], presenter Melvyn Bragg, 2.11.06.

BBC radio-4, Today, interview about tangled phone cords [with Nick Craddy, interviewer Caroline Quinn], 14.11.06.

2007

BBC Radio-3, Night Waves, discussion about Leonhard Euler, 10.4.07.

KYMO-AM/FM East Prairie MO, KYMO Morning Show, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Reid Howell], 16.4.07.

WVRC-AM Huntington W.VA, Viewpoint, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Jean Dean], 16.4.07.

WTKF-FM/WJNC-AM, Jacksonville NC, Coastal Daybreak with Ben Ball, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Ben Ball], 18.4.07.

BBC radio-4, In Our Time, Symmetry [with Marcus du Sautoy and Fay Dowker], presenter Melvyn Bragg, 19.4.07.

WKWS-FM, Charleston WV, Wolf Wake Up Crew, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Mike and Amanda Walton], 19.4.07.

KBUL-AM, Billings MT, News Talk, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Tommy B.], 19.4.07.

WAJB-AM, Toledo OH, Morning Show, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Tami Frye], 20.4.07.

KCBS-AM, San Francisco CA, Morning Show, discussion of `Why Beauty is Truth' [with Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor], 20.4.07.

Television

Granada, The South Bank Show, The Garden of Cosmic Speculation [presenter Melvyn Bragg] 28.2.05.

Sky One, The science of Stargate, Oxford Scientific Films, 15.7.05.

Discovery Channel, Science of sci-fi movies, Tiger Aspect, 1.8.05. [Series.]

Research-TV, `The Science of Aliens' exhibition at Science Museum, 2.11.05.

BBC-4, Maths Shorts—Escher, producer David Vincent, 8.11.05.

BBC-4, Maths Shorts—Golden Ratio, producer David Vincent, 8.11.05.

BBC-4, Timeshift, Parallel worlds—a user's guide 6.9.06 [TX 28.11.06].

TVM Malta (PBS), L'Ahbarijiet (8 o'clock news), interview about mathematics with Antonia Micallef, 19.10.06.

News and Magazines

Birthdays on Jupiter, Eureka 57 (2005) 10-14.

Introduction to Stop Working and Start Thinking (J.Cohen and G.Medley), 2nd edition, Taylor and Francis, Abingdon 2005, 5-15.

Prime time, New Scientist #2511 (6 August 2005) 40-43.

Fiction science, Warwick: the Magazine 7 (2005) 10-11.

Ride the celestial subway, New Scientist #2544 (25 March 2006) 32-36.

Comment and analysis (maths guru Ian Stewart on puzzles), BBC Focus 163 (May 2006) 20.

[with Jack Cohen] The Science of Discworld Apocrypha, Discworld Convention 2006 Programme Book 19-22, Star Turtle 2006.

Deux est unique, Mixte 41 (August/September 2006) 140-141.

The power of two [English translation of (291)], Mixte 41 (August/September 2006) 271.

To find fake coin, SIAM News 39 (December 2006) 7.

The future of proof, Prospect 132 (March 2007) 42-44.

Euler's revolution, New Scientist #2596 (24 March 2007) 48-51.

Enigmas and Puzzles Column

Not another bloody partridge, Prospect 106 (January 2005) 6.

Circumnavigationology, Prospect 107 (February 2005) 6.

Which hat is whose?, Prospect 108 (March 2005) 6.

The monastery garden, Prospect 109 (April 2005) 6.

Proportional misrepresentation, Prospect 110 (May 2005) 6.

Pigfungler's syndrome, Prospect 111 (June 2005) 6.

Big Uglyville subway, Prospect 112 (July 2005) 8.

We're routing for you, Prospect 113 (August 2005) 8.

Pseudoku, Prospect 114 (September 2005) 8.

Triangles and tetrahedra, Prospect 115 (October 2005) 8.

The virtue of greed, Prospect 116 (November 2005) 6.

Monumental calculation, Prospect 117 (December 2005) 6.

Colorado Smith and the Temple of Gloom, Prospect 118 (January 2006) 6.

Howduzzi's tricky triangle, Prospect 119 (February 2006) 8.

Death tablet of the Xuduvudu, Prospect 120 (March 2006) 8.

Jobs for the boys, Prospect 121 (April 2006) 8.

Fibonacci's bank account, Prospect 122 (May 2006) 8.

The old curiosity shop, Prospect 123 (June 2006) 8.

Five gold things, Prospect 124 (July 2006) 8.

Desperately daubing dominoes, Prospect 125 (August 2006) 8.

A league of two halves, Prospect 126 (September 2006) 8.

Mix-'n'-mismatch muddle, Prospect 127 (October 2006) 8.

Census and censusability, Prospect 128 (November 2006) 8.

In the pipeline, Prospect 129 (December 2006) 8.

Desperate housecats, Prospect 130 (January 2007) 8.

Bargain hunting, Prospect 131 (February 2007) 8.

The fifth elephant, Prospect 132 (March 2007) 10.

MAC@W regrets that it cannot provide lectures for individual schools